Q) What would you suggest for organizing a "junk drawer?" You know, the drawer in every house where you stick everything that doesn't fit anywhere else.

Ours includes twist ties, a nutcracker, pizza scissors, and other "junk" that you only rarely need but still want to keep. Thank you.

Reply: The quickest solution, which happens to be my golden rule of organizing, is to hold like-things together, in the smallest container possible.

For example, you can put your twist ties in a small margarine tub. Same goes for rubber bands (of course, in their own tub), paper clips, safety pins, etc.

Also marvelous for these kinds of item are egg cartons, small jelly jars, ash trays, and little boxes. If you are the crafty type, you can dress up your containers by painting them or applying pretty paper and/or fabric.

Next, I would take the food preparing items, like the pizza scissors, out of your junk drawer. In honor of the golden rule, they really belong with your other food preparing utensils.

You may have other categories of things that you can sensibly store with other like-things.

Take a little time to throw away what you don't use or want, and re-arrange what remains. Your stuff will be much more accessible, your drawers more organized, and you? Delighted!